History

A History of the Great Neck Park District

In honor of the Great Neck Park District's 100 year Anniversary, here is a look at how it all began! The information was obtained by literature from the Great Neck Park District and the Great Neck Historical Society archives.

The Great Neck Park District, the oldest park system in Nassau County and one of the only park districts in New York State, was formed by long-time resident, Roswell Eldridge. Just months before it was established, a New York State law went into effect allowing towns to create park districts as special districts within their borders. It was on Monday, August 14, 1916, that Roswell Eldridge of Great Neck appeared before the Board of the Town of North Hempstead in Manhasset, NY. and filed a petition for the establishment of the Great Neck Park District.

Its founding mission was to obtain and preserve open space. The
community association was to be outside any village or city and
supported by taxes on district residents. Creation of the Great Neck
Park District was widely supported; ninety percent of the people
approached about the petition signed it. In addition, the petitioners
collected $200,000 above the necessary one-half of the assessed value of
the taxable real property in the proposed district. The petition for
the establishment of the Great Neck Park District was then granted; it
is comprised of the Village of Great Neck, Great Neck Plaza, Kensington,
Thomaston, Kings Point and Russell Gardens. The district originally
served 750 families, whereas today the Great Neck Park District serves
more than 13,500 families living within its borders.

The first
commissioners were appointed for one, two and three years consecutively,
thus setting the pattern for the future of three-year elected
officials. While the petition was presented by Roswell Eldridge, his
wife Louise Eldridge was also committed to creating the Great Neck Park
District, and both of them were loyal supporters. Louise was an early
commissioner of the Park District; she was also instrumental in opening
the first library in Great Neck and the first woman mayor in the state,
serving in Saddle Rock. Louise and Roswell Eldridge led the first
acquisition by the Park District. In 1916, the couple and their friends
financed the purchase of Hayden's Coal Yard at the western end of
Steamboat Road (where the United Merchant Marine Academy stands today)
and transformed the land into a public park and beach. This was the
first park operated by the district.

Allenwood Park was
obtained in the early 1920s as was Memorial Field. Soon after, William
Gould Brokaw, owner of the Nirvana estate in the present Strathmore area
and beyond, sold a piece of his property, between Beach Road and
Arrandale Avenue, to the Great Neck Park District. Three and one half
more acres were added to the Park District by the Great Neck School
District, and the combined property became the Village Green in the Old
Village. Renowned landscape architect Beatrix Farrand planned the
beautiful Rose Garden on that land. When Roswell passed away in 1927 at
age 70, Louise had a bandstand erected in his memory which still stands
today.

In 1938 the Village of Kings Point leased Kings Point
Park, including 175 acres of land between Steamboat and Redbrook Roads,
to the Park District. The Park District promised to improve the land and
developed this former swamp area into a facility that can be enjoyed
year round. This beautiful natural preserve was to become a garbage dump
had it not been for the fight put up by the local government.

Since then, the 175-acre recreational facility and forest area is used
year-round, a favorite destination for walkers, ball and soccer players,
picnickers, tennis players, and families enjoying the playground.
By the 1940s the Park District was busy obtaining land to create
neighborhood parks. These included Cutter Mill Park, Firefighters' Park
(formerly Grace Avenue Park) and Wyngate, all of which enhanced the
central part of the community that had spread southward from the Old
Village to the Plaza area, where commuting to New York City changed from
catching the steamboat to catching the train. The playground equipment
purchased at the time cost less than a game you would buy in a box
today. For instance, the original see-saw for Wyngate Park cost the Park
District a meager $8.55!

In 1942, the bathing beach property
at the end Steamboat Road was bought by the United States Merchant
Marine Academy. This sale was offset by the purchase of the present
Steppingstone Park and Marina from Walter Chrysler Jr. Shortly after
2000, Steppingstone Park was expanded to include land that had been part
of the George M. Cohan estate.

After World War II, Great Neck
prospered. Many new residents who worked and commuted to Manhattan,
asked the town government for a parking facility near the railroad
station. In lieu of starting a new agency, the town turned to the Park
District to take on the task. The Board agreed and to this day operates 3
parking fields servicing commuters for a nominal fee.

Parks
were added to the District in the early 1960s and ‘70s including Upland
(1963), Lakeville (1966), Ravine (1968), Manor (1970) and Thomaston
(1978). In 1964 the Parkwood Sports Complex was constructed with a pool
and rink. Since then, several renovations have been made including
enclosure of the rink (1970) and the expansion of the pool which is now
called the Parkwood Family Aquatic Center. Parkwood Indoor Tennis Center
was built in 1991. After the September 11, 2001, the ice-skating rink
was renamed the Andrew Stergiopolous Ice Rink, in honor of Andrew
Stergiopoulos, a Great Neck resident who grew up playing hockey at the
rink, and who perished in the horrific attack.

Great Neck House
is the Park District's community center. It was acquired in 1973 and
was the beginning of a new wave of expansion during the ‘70s. The
building is an English Tudor style structure which was built by Roswell
Eldridge at the turn-of-the-century, as the original location of the
Great Neck Library. He made sure to stipulate that if and when the
library no longer housed the building, it must be used by the community
and not sold for private use. Today, the programs and facilities at
Great Neck House have become a vital and integral part of the Great Neck
community.

The Peninsula Club property in Thomaston was
acquired in the 1990s and now contains a much-loved dog park. The
Village Green was in the midst of a refurbishing with a new fountain
being installed, when a microburst in June 2010 destroyed dozens of
trees in the Village Green in less than five minutes. Incredibly, within
just a few days the park was cleared of debris and declared safe,
though the devastation was painful to see. However, soon after a program
of replanting was well under way. The revitalization of the Village
Green included the addition of the all-abilities PlayGarden, a new
Veteran's Memorial and beautification of the Rose Garden.

The
Park District continues to carry out the mission of Louise and Roswell
Eldridge. Today the programs, events and facilities have become a vital
and integral part of the Great Neck community.